Chapter 3
The haunting dreams continued for several nights, until Lena finally surrendered to her new, disturbing obsession and took it to the internet. That resulted in several late nights of frustration; there wasn't much information about computerized bodysuits that could reprogram a person's brain or modify their body (aside from the questionable adult fantasy sites; there were a LOT of those), but she pressed on, reasoning it might help reduce her nervousness if she could understand Simi's fascination with the... process.
And her own,
she thought.
She even went as far as paying a weekend visit to her parents' house to dig out her old high school notebooks; being enrolled in a city college two towns away from her old home had advantages, and the hugs, home-cooked meals, and light-hearted interrogation about her college life were a small price to pay for the textbooks and notes from her computer classes that she had stored carefully away, on the odd chance they might be needed again.
By the time Simi's next invitation came, for the following Thursday night, Lena had already scanned the notes several times. Most people never bothered to study how computers worked anymore; high school covered the basics, but unless they were code writers, they learned just enough to use their phones to make calls, send texts, or take pictures so they could post things on social media. Being an English major, Lena also used a laptop for word processing, internet access, or the occasional game; but how the machines actually functioned, the pieces and programs involved, had slipped from her conscious memory in the years since high school.
Lena briefly fussed about stuffing this old information back into her head when it wasn't her collegiate focus; the semester was ending soon, and she needed every spare brain cell for the final exams, but the excess studies helped ratchet her anxiety down a notch or two. Even so, as she headed to Simi's room that night, her mind swirled, trying to remember all the vocabulary and diagrams she had dusted off.
Putting old information back in... I'm reprogramming myself, just like her.
"Hey there, Lena, you ready?" Simi called from her desk chair, again wearing the silver bodysuit. Seeing Lena's nod, she waved her towards the bed, and turned back to her computer. "No updates tonight, it's just a maintenance check-in. Oh, and you said you wanted to see me in app mode, right? We'll do that afterwards; a speed-reading test, I brought a book." She patted the thin volume of a paperback novel, sitting beside the keyboard.
As she sat on the piled blankets and nabbed a few pillows for comfort, Lena spoke up. "Can you...will you please leave the voice on again?"
"What, I thought you didn't like my robot voice? Kind of freaks me out too, honestly."
"I want to know what's going on, okay? What the suit's doing. It's kind of interesting to listen as it's happening."
"All right, I'll leave it on," Simi acquiesced, then mimicked a narrative voice: "'Follow along with these simple step-by-step instructions.'"
Lena giggled. "Thanks."
Simi examined the screen. "Hmm, yep, just a check-in. This should only take a minute or two. Maybe next time we'll try something longer." She got out of the chair, then turned to Lena and suddenly knelt in front of her, holding out her hands. Puzzled, Lena offered her own, and Simi clasped and held her fingers, giving her an open, sincere look. "You know, I'm actually kind of glad to be sharing this with you, Lena" Simi said. "I didn't think anyone would ever understand."
Lena blinked; Simi wasn't usually so forthcoming with her feelings.
Neither am I,
she admitted privately. "Thank you, Simi," she responded aloud, then clarified: "I can't say I understand yet...but I'm trying."
Smiling, Simi got up and tugged at the suit, making sure the material was snug against her body, then turned and picked up the long black cord beside the computer. As the prompt appeared on the screen to insert the cable, she lifted her hair and plugged the cord into the port in the collar.
Lena didn't look at the monitor this time; all her attention was focused on her friend as she watched her demeanor change. Simi raised up, straight and still, the light left her eyes, and emotion drained from her face, becoming blank and smooth. The suit lights activated, flittering across her body, and that cold, robotic tone filled the room as her mouth opened, and was answered by the speakers.
"Connection established."
Lena shivered; the machine was in control now. She knew Simi was still there, watching, listening, recording; but her personality, her soul, was shunted aside.
That is just so...
After the previous glimmers of arousal, and the brief encounters with the adult websites on mind control, Lena's hand crept unconsciously to her lap. Looking down, she noticed her fingers twitching. Had those innocent searches snuck in a few subliminal whispers? She balled her hand into a fist and shoved it into the blanket beside her, avoiding a potentially embarrassing misunderstanding.
No, can't do that in front of Simi; maybe after, wait until later.
"Unit E27 online." A few seconds passed. "Unit E27 is ready to receive programming. Confirming maintenance update. Processing. Processing. Uploading maintenance data. Housemate:Lena, it is agreeable to see you again."
Lena gave a start. Simi hadn't looked at her at all, she was still facing the computer; yet somehow, she was aware of her presence. "Thanks?" she replied querulously.
Simi's head turned to face her, and Lena froze; for some reason, that vacant, penetrating stare pierced her with a deep, chilling sensation. "Data uploaded. Maintenance verification complete. Program:Simi will reactivate in twenty seconds. Do you wish to pause?"
Lena frowned slightly. Pause what? There were no updates in progress. But last time, Simi had mentioned that her robot self was 'fascinated' by her. Was she suggesting she
wanted
Lena to pause her? "Y-yes?"
"The appropriate command is 'Unit E27, pause reactivation,'" the Simi-bot instructed her.
"Unit E27, pause reactivation," Lena repeated.
"Confirmed, reactivation paused."
